Pat Conroy

One of my all time favorite authors is Pat Conroy who moved to Beaufort when he was fifteen years old. I was first introduced to his work via the 1974 movie Conrack starring Jon Voight which was derived from his book The Water Is Wide. The story is based on his experiences as a teacher in a one room schoolhouse on the remote island of Daufuskie located in off shore South Carolina. In the book Conroy tells the true story of how he was fired at the conclusion of his first year of teaching on the island for his unconventional teaching practices. This included his refusal to use corporal punishment on students and his lack of respect for the school's administration. The book won Conroy a humanitarian award from the National Education Association.

Daufuskie Island is a residential sea island between Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It has a full-time population of around 429. The island was home to a sizable population of Gullah inhabitants from the end of the Civil War until very recently. The Gullah are the descendants of freed slaves. The 1988 Jimmy Buffett song The Prince of Tides laments the urbanization of the island and loss of the Gullah.

After reading his first book, I have figuratively waited in line for more of his writings and have read each one as they became available. Autobiographical in nature, Conroy has several times gotten in trouble with his family and fellow Citadel graduates for his blunt and often too honest portrayal of his characters.

In 1976, Conroy published The Great Santini.

The main character of the novel, Colonel "Bull" Meecham, is a Marine fighter pilot who dominates and terrorizes his family. The character of "Bull" Meecham is based on Pat's father, Donald Conroy. In the book My Losing Season, Donald Conroy was even worse than the character depicted in Santini. However, the books eventually led to reconciliation in Pat Conroy's relationship with his father and they became very close. His father, looking to prove that he was not what Pat Conroy described, changed his manners drastically. According to Pat Conroy, his father would often sign copies of his son's novels as "Donald Conroy - The Great Santini."

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